Herald of the Great Devourer
by MythicDeeds
Summary: Rewrite of Within the Reach of Thanatos. Uzumaki Naruto is granted a great power: being able to control an aeons old race of extragalactic locusts. Watch as Naruto grows from being an immature ninja to a cold, ruthless leader capable of unleashing biological monstrosities that would make even the Five Kages tremble. But he is far from the only one who knows what he controls...


Disclaimer: Naruto/this crossover universe and all other related material belong to their respective owners.

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><p><em>Introduction<em>

Thousands of years in the past, before even the mighty Rikudo Sennin, a great enemy was defeated. This enemy was so immense, so powerful, that it took the strongest warriors of the age to take it down once and for all. The enemy had many titles.

The Herald of the End.

The Shadow Over All.

The Great Destroyer.

Whatever it was, it was greatly feared by the people of the Eien no Taritsu no Jidai,and was considered big enough of a threat for them to cease fighting each other and focus their effort on annihilating it. Alas, the names of the heroes who slew it, their clan names, and the true name of the Great Destroyer, and what it actually was, have been lost to the ravages of time.

However, their legacy has lasted throughout the ages, through weapons, armor, and other such things, passed on through multitudes of generations. And now, one such legacy is about to make it's way into the hands of one Naruto Uzumaki...for better or for worse.

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><p>The Forty-Fourth Training Ground, more commonly known as the Forest of Death, was considered to be quite dangerous, to the point where even jounin stayed away from it (with the exception of one Anko Mitarashi), due to the deadly ecosystem it had developed, where only the strongest creatures survived, and anything weaker perished.<p>

It was all about to change tonight, however.

In the thickest part of the Forest, underneath the ground, something stirred. Biomass swirled in a fleshy cocoon. Slowly, but surely, it took form. Eyes shot open, and the creature rose up from beneath the ground, dirt and rocks making way for a colossus of flesh and bone.

Once fully standing upright, the creature up close is utterly terrifying to behold.

The beast is tall, unnaturally so, standing at a height of _six_ meters. A powerful, muscular frame held up a large, interlocking carapace, which extended from it's head all the way to it's tail. The knees were also covered by the same interlocking chitin, but it did not extend to the rest of the legs.

It had four arms, all of which were occupied with a massive sword, twice as long as a man was tall, and judging by the jagged edges of each one, it most certainly could cut one in half, too.

The obvious fleshy parts were coloured a shade of white, while the carapace was a dark purple, with red highlights. All in all, the creature screamed danger, and as such, was not something even a shinobi would take lightly.

But the most terrifying thing about it was it's face.

Yellow eyes that seemed to _glow _ scanned the dark forest around it, as if it _knew _something about the place it was in. A single, elongated horn stuck out from the top of it's skull, while a maw filled with razor sharp teeth dripped with saliva hungrily, obviously awaiting for some sort of meal.

The creature finished it's scrutinization of the area, and opened it's mouth...

...and an aeons old roar echoed throughout the world once more, signalling the end of an era, and the dawn of a new one.

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><p>In a different dimension, four immense and <em>old<em> beings awoke once more.

**"THE ANATHEMA IS GONE FROM THE GALAXY, AND YET WE ARE STILL WEAK."** The first of the four thundered, rage coating every word.

_"Calm yourself, Khorne. We may be weak, but if we wait, then we will regain our former strength." _The second of the four said, steepling his fingers and creating a table for the four to sit around.

**"SHUT UP, TZEENTCH. I DEMAND BLOOD BE SPILT RIGHT NOW, OR I'LL-"**

"He has... a point, Khorne..." The third of the four wheezed, pain lancing through his throat with every word he said, which he somehow ignored. "We can gather followers... the same way we always do..."

_"See? Nurgle agrees with me."_

"And I know just the place to start..." The last of the four giggled, which drew the other three's attention to her.

**"WELL, SLAANESH? WHERE?" **

The woman giggled again, and with a swish of her hand, a globe appeared. Slowly, the frowns and scowls of the other three were replaced by a malicious grin.

And once more, the Ruinous Powers began to worm their way into reality through their powers, and the taint of Chaos began anew.

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><p>In the Land of Iron, a man long asleep awoke once more. Inside his suit of armor, he began to move, each metalclad footstep echoing throughout the halls. A massive sword, as long as a man was tall, crackled with lightning in his right hand, while on the left, he held a strange boxy contraption, with one single hole at the end of it. Upon the back of his armor, a large black book was bound to a long metal rod.<p>

The warrior's appearance caught the attention of Mifune, the current General of the Land of Iron, and his attendants, Okisuke and Urakaku. Recognising who he was, they knelt in reverence and fear.

"Gregorio-sama." Mifune spoke, his tone but a mere whisper, but not quiet enough that it would escape the ironclad warrior's notice.

"Mifune." Gregorio thundered, his voice seemingly amplified by his helmet. "Make preparations. Gather as many recruits as you can. We"

"But why, Gregorio-sama? Are we preparing for a war?" Urakaku asked the warrior, confusion evident in his voice. Gregorio nodded in response.

"The wheels of fate are turning once more. War is, indeed, on the horizon. However, it will not be until a few years have passed. This gives us time to prepare accordingly. I shall wake my brothers. You three are dismissed." Okisuke looked skeptical, before Mifune shot him a look that said 'don't question him'. The trio of samurai stood up, and they turned on their heels and left.

Gregorio frowned underneath his helmet. What he had seen had greatly disturbed him, but now was not the time to ponder about it. He had to wake his brothers to tell them about the vision that He had bestowed upon him.

"The Emperor protects." he muttered.

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><p>Uzumaki Naruto was running. Again. He had been running since the day he was born, so it was of little matter to him.<p>

His legs carried him all the way to an alleyway which he used as a hiding spot, and he dove behind the large bin to escape his pursuers. Unfortunately, one sharp eyed shinobi saw him dive behind the bin, and he directed the mob toward the boy's hiding place.

"We caught you now, demon brat!" a civilian said, holding up the young Uzumaki by the hem of his shirt, a knife in his grip. The mob roared their approval, weapons being raised up high, along with fiery torches. The civilian threw the young boy on the ground, causing Naruto to cough up blood.

_'It's okay, just let them vent it...' _the boy thought, until he saw that the knife was aimed directly for his heart. Detached boredom quickly became sheer terror, as the man reared back his hand. Naruto closed his eyes, unconscious tears forming at the edges of his eyes. Is this where it ended? Was he not destined to become Hokage? And so, he waited for the cold grip of death.

The civilian brought the knife down, ready to tear into his flesh, ready to splinter bone , ready to kill-

But the killing blow never came. Naruto opened his eyes to see a massive hole punched through his would-be executioner, dripping with blood, which dripped down to his white shirt, staining it with red.

The boy watched in horror as a creature with tentacles for a mouth materialized in front of him, revealing that it's hand was the cause of the hole that had pierced the civilian's torso.

_'W-what the hell is that?!'_ the jinchuuriki thought, panic beginning to overtake his senses.

"Help...me..." the man gurgled, blood running down the side of his mouth, before the creature's tentacles dug into his head, killing the man far before his eyes rolled up to the back of their sockets. Naruto felt his blood run cold as he saw the man's life giving fluid slowly trickle from his head and torso as the creature's tentacles retracted and threw the corpse aside.

He heard screams as the mob scattered, and the ANBU assigned to protect him began to walk forward, kunai out, ready to kill this creature. Naruto, however, was morbidly captivated by the creature in front of him, even though he had just witnessed it kill a man in cold blood.

Like he saw earlier, the creature's mouth was solely comprised of tentacles. But now, as he looked closer, it had a massive carapace protecting it's entire back, while two massive talons hung above it's head. Sharp claws adorned it's hands, and it's legs were digitigrade. Instead of toed feet, it had hooves.

"Y-you saved me..." Naruto said aloud, honestly not expecting an answer. However, much to his surprise, the creature actually nodded, and held out one of it's hands. However, this was when one of the ANBU spoke up:

"Uzumaki Naruto. Step away from the creature slowly. We will handle it." Judging from the undertone, the ANBU was a male. Naruto looked at the ANBU, then to the creature's outstretched hand. And in the spur of the moment, with the thought that this creature did more to protect him than the ANBU ever did, the young boy took the creature's hand, single handedly changing the course of fate with a single action.

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><p>Read and Review!<p> 


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